Aftermath
by allie-chii
Summary: Because you never know if your choice is wrong or right. Because you never know who gets hurt and how much they do when you've made your choice. Because you never know that you got hurt by your choice, too. And because you never realized it until it was too late. Because, you never know, what you'll do next, what you'll do with the choices you've made. Sequel to Decision!
1. Confusion

**Hello, everyone! It's me again. Gosh, it has been FOREVER since I last made any fics. But, as per request (and me deciding it was time this old thing had a sequel) by Minami Shimada (thanks girl, had you not talked to me, this thing would probably have never been published.**

**So, uhm, since I'm only just recovering from a writer's block, I have absolutely no idea, nor any guarantee, that this will be any good. Heck, I don't even remember the main plot for this, but you know. I'll just wing it, like I always do.**

**Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this.**

**~~~~=w=~~~~**

The students of Fumizuki Academy have always been a wild bunch, all lively and joking and full of fun. But most people would agree that of this set of weird, unique people, the wildest of them all is the idiot class of the second years, Class 2-F.

This morning wasn't any different, not really. In one corner of the classroom, their class president, Sakamoto Yuuji, was busy trying to get rid of a certain girl from class 2-A, Kirishima Shouko. They have what one would call a "complicated" relationship.

Today Shouko was, for the umpteenth time, trying to get Yuuji to sign some absurd marriage contract, even though she knew fully well that they were leaps and bounds too young to actually get hitched.

"…Yuuji." She went, trying to get the tall man's attention.

"What, Shouko?" Yuuji asked, impatient. How could she be bothering him at this hour?

"…Let's go watch a movie tomorrow."

"No," was the immediate reply.

"…If you don't then…" she withdrew a tazer from who knows where. The marriage contract soon followed; her other hand clutching it. "…then we'll get married."

"Okay, okay fine! I'll pick you up at 10." Yuuji surrendered, powerless by the smaller woman's blackmailing.

In another corner, Kinoshita Hideyoshi and Tsuchiya Kouta, better known as Muttsurini, were having an animated conversation about…something, nobody really knew what. Probably something about Hideyoshi not being a girl, or some perverted thing again.

Himeji Mizuki was by one corner, by the window, reading a history textbook. She was probably the only one in Class F who actually cared about her grades. Every once in a while, she looked up, said hi to her classmates, and looked in a certain idiot's direction.

Said certain idiot was, for some reason, being interrogated by the FFF Inquisition.

"What's going on?" some classmates asked. It wasn't unusual that Yoshii Akihisa would be interrogated – well, interrogated wasn't really the proper term – by the FFF, it was just odd that they were doing so at such an ungodly hour, so early in the day.

"Yoshii Akihisa! You are deemed guilty by the FFF Inquisition! Punishment?" the FFF leader, Sugawa Ryō, yelled, while the other members of the Inquisition held Akihisa captive.

"G-guilty of what?! What did I do now?!" Akihisa answered, struggling with the ropes they used to tie him down. "I'm innocent! I didn't do anything!"

Akihisa's pleas were pointless as the boys debated on the perfect punishment.

"What did Akihisa-kun do, Sugawa?" Himeji, curious, asked, turning her face away from her book to address the chaos that was the Inquisition.

"Himeji-san help me! I didn't do anything I swear!" Akihisa pled, as his captors were getting closer on deciding what form of punishment he'd have to take for a crime he didn't even know he did.

"Well, Himeji-san, if you must know, sources saw Yoshii alone with a girl at the rooftop last week! We think it was a love confession! We even heard that he wrote this girl a love letter! He must be punished!" Sugawa answered.

"Eh? Akihisa-kun confessed to someone? Who?" Himeji asked, putting the book down, looking right at Akihisa.

"W-what? I did not confess to anyone! That's wrong, it's not true Himeji-san!" Akihisa yelled.

"Then why did you see you with –" a member of the FFF goes, only to be interrupted by someone entering the classroom.

"Ohayou, Minami-chan." Himeji piped up, greeting her friend, possibly the only other female student in class F, well, not counting Hideyoshi.

Looking up, Minami smiled – or at least tried to – at her friend. "Ohayou, Mizuki."

"What's wrong, Minami?" Himeji asked, not noticing the commotion of the FFF dying down, and Akihisa trying to avoid looking at the redhead.

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing, nothing! Just…sleepy, that's all!" Said redhead replied, obviously avoiding meeting a certain idiot's eyes.

Shimada Minami sat by a corner, away from everyone, even from her best friend, whom she always sat with in class. People found it odd but nobody had the courage to ask her what was going on.

The morning bell rang and everyone scrambled back to their seats.

As the class went on, Himeji noticed something different about the class's atmosphere. She couldn't pinpoint what it exactly was, but she felt an uneasiness from the class, and she was looking for the possible reasons why. In one corner, she noticed that Minami sat away from the entire gang, pointedly far away, and she refused to look at anyone. She looked at her other friends, hoping for some sign as to why her only female friend was acting like this.

The rest of the class acted seemingly normal, some listening – or trying to listen – to the teacher in front, some pretending to listen, and some just sleeping in the middle of class.

There was, however, one other person acting oddly, as Himeji observed.

Every now and then, Akihisa would look at Minami's direction, with an expression of – what was that? Guilt? Sadness? She couldn't quite place what his look meant.

And whenever Akihisa looked in Minami's direction, said girl turned further away, obviously trying to avoid the boy's glances.

Himeji took a mental note to ask someone about this later.

**~~~=w=~~~**

Class droned on and Himeji struggled to listen to the teacher. She was too focused on the weird tension between Akihisa and Minami. What had happened between the two of them?

Suddenly, like a flash of lightning, a thought occurred to her.

Hadn't Sugawa and the others said something about Akihisa confessing to a girl the other day? They never said who the girl was but…

Was it possible?

Was Minami the girl he confessed to the other day?

She felt depressed for approximately a second until she realized it made no sense.

She knew Minami liked Akihisa as much as she did. Why, then, would there be this awkward tension between the two of them if he had confessed? Minami would have surely accepted his confession and they would have started going out, if he really did confess. There would have been a different atmosphere between them, not this weird one she felt right now.

Guiltily, she felt relieved that Akihisa hadn't confessed to Minami. She felt bad for feeling happy over it, when her best friend was in the far end of the classroom, obviously going through something horrible.

She went back to thinking. What if something else had happened between the two of them?

She turned to the people in question.

She would never know by mere guesses and jumping to her own conclusions.

**~~~=w=~~~**

The lunch bell rang and everyone huddled together, getting ready to eat lunch together.

Well, all except Minami.

"Oi, Shimada, hurry up so we can have lunch!" Yuuji called over to the still silent girl, who had not moved from her corner of the classroom.

She looked up, and for a split second Himeji noticed – what? Anger? Hurt? – in the girl's sharp green eyes. It faded before she could study it further, replacing whatever alien emotion that was with a cool dullness. She answered, "You guys have lunch; I'm not hungry. Excuse me."

She stood up and left the room, leaving the bento box her sister had most likely prepared for her.

Himeji's eyes followed Minami's slender figure leaving the room, and returned to see questioning looks on all but one person's face.

That person, as we all know, was Akihisa.

"What's the matter with Shimada-san?" Hideyoshi piped up, the question directed at the entire group.

Himeji noticed Akihisa looking away, trying to ignore the question.

Apparently someone else noticed it, or maybe everyone did, but only one person had the guts to point it out.

"Oi, Akihisa, what happened to Shimada?" Yuuji asked, unfazed and direct, looking at him.

Akihisa looked up, briefly, and then looked down. In a resigned tone, almost down to a whisper, he answered, unenthusiastically. "I didn't do anything."

Everyone felt that Akihisa clearly did not want to talk about it, but they all knew now that something definitely happened.

Himeji dared to ask the question she'd had in her head since earlier.

"Akihisa-kun…was…the girl that Sugawa-san referred to earlier…was it Minami-chan?"

Everyone turned to face Himeji, who was now steely-eyed, waiting for Akihisa's answer.

Akihisa took a deep breath, and everyone shifted their eyes from the pink-haired girl to him.

"Yes."

**~~~=w=~~~**

**Well, there you have it! Chapter One! Ugh it's probably not that good. If you haven't read the prequel, *gasps* what do you think happened between Minami and Akihisa back then? And how will the others react to what happened? Tune in next time to find out! (Gahd I suck at cliff-hangers and narrations.) Well, if you want to, you can read the prequel to understand this more, it's entitled Decision. **

**For those who have read the prequel, *gasps again* what will happen next? What will Akihisa do about the two girls in his life? Tune in next time to find out!**

**And please, don't forget to leave a review~ And expect an update by tomorrow!**


	2. Hesitation

**Hey all~ This is Chapter Two of Aftermath, sequel to Decision! And, as an apology for taking forever to make the sequel, I shall post one chapter per day! And, since I plan on making this into a five to seven chapter story, you'll have the complete story in a week! How about that, huh? **

**Sorry, too, it took a while to finish, was busy with some things.**

**Well, here goes, enjoy~**

**Oh, and I don't own, okay?**

**~~~=w=~~~**

"Yes." He had replied, after a long pause.

It took everyone a full minute to process this fact in their heads, and within that said minute, a hundred other questions popped into Himeji's head.

She was sure the others had the same questions as her.

What did they do? Why was Minami acting like that? Why were they alone on the rooftop at that time?

Himeji opened her mouth to speak when another voice interrupted. It was a voice they didn't expect would be in the room at all.

"Mizuki…can I talk to you?" Minami said, by the door.

"S-Shimada! How long have you been standing there?" Yuuji asked, while Akihisa just looked away. All eyes were on the redhead right now, while the redhead kept her eyes locked on her friend.

She ignored the question, and instead called Himeji again.

"Mizuki."

All eyes then shifted to her, including Akihisa this time. Now _she_ was involved in whatever this _thing_ was?

She stood up, looking first at Minami, then Akihisa, then back to Minami.

"I'm coming."

**~~~=w=~~~**

"Minami-chan, hold on!" Himeji said, struggling to keep up with a rushing Minami.

They were walking up all the way to a secluded corridor, a portion of the school that was barely used.

Minami stopped, turned and faced her friend.

For a minute, the two just stared at each other, sharp green eyes meeting soft blue ones.

Unable to bear the silence, Himeji spoke.

"Minami-chan?"

She studied her friend's face. Now that she managed to get a good look at it, she was able to look at her expression more, and finally analyze what emotion that was hidden behind Minami's now-cold emerald orbs.

She could see hurt, she could see anger.

And she had no idea why.

"Minami-chan?" she called out again.

Minami's face was stoic, like stone. It gave away no emotion, but her eyes, her eyes betrayed everything – at least to Himeji, who knew her friend so well.

Minami just kept staring at her, just staring, not wanting to betray her expressionless mask.

"Are you okay?"

To Minami, those three words were it. She surrendered.

In a split second – like a flash of lightning – she broke. Her mask crumbled, leaving Himeji to witness what it had been trying so hard to hide.

With those three words, Minami fell to tears, the pain and sadness and anger in her eyes spreading through the rest of her body.

She fell to her knees, wailing, sobbing, and her hands flung to cover her eyes, wiping away the tears that kept on falling.

"Minami-chan!" Himeji cried out, rushing to catch her friend. She had no idea why her friend was crying, but, immediately, almost reflexively, she wrapped her arms around her friend, hugged her tight and just sat there, letting her friend cry.

"It's okay, it's okay, Minami-chan. I'm right here." She whispered, trying to comfort her friend, whose tears just couldn't seem to stop flowing.

They just sat there for a good ten minutes, Minami sobbing into Himeji, Himeji trying to comfort her. Then Minami had stopped crying, wiped off the last of her tears, and stood back up.

Himeji stood up as well, looking at her teary-eyed friend. She opened her mouth to speak, to ask what was wrong, but Minami cut her off.

"Mizuki…" she began.

"Minami-chan…can you tell me what's wrong?" Himeji interrupted. She had a lot of questions right now, and she needed Minami to answer them.

Minami took a deep breath.

"What were you doing with Akihisa-kun?" Himeji didn't need to be precise; they both knew what she was talking about.

And so, Minami began to explain.

"The other day…Aki asked me to meet him at the rooftop. Alone, after classes."

"…Why didn't you tell me, Minami-chan?" Himeji asked.

"I didn't tell you because…because for one I didn't know if he meant it or not. And…because I thought…I thought he was going to confess and I didn't want to tell you about it…"

"…Oh."

Minami paused for a while, feeling guilty. Why _hadn't_ she told Himeji about it?

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you." Minami continued.

"…But did he confess?"

At that, Minami's eyes brimmed with tears again, but she shook it off, tried hard not to cry.

Himeji understood immediately, he hadn't confessed to her, much to her friend's dismay, and, guiltily, to her satisfaction.

She kept quiet about it, the fact that she felt happy that he hadn't confessed to Minami.

"That's the thing, Mizuki. He didn't ask me to come up there so that he could confess to _me_. He asked me to come up there so that he could confess to _you._" Minami's voice was faltering at that point; it was clear how hard this was for her to let out, especially to Himeji, of all people.

"…What? I…I don't understand, Minami-chan."

She tried to remain calm, tried to listen to her friend, tried to ignore the feelings of immense joy and elation inside her.

Akihisa wanted to confess to _her_! He loved _her_!

Mentally, she shook her head. This was not the time to feel happy about this. Her friend was right in front of her, a complete wreck. This was not the time to feel happy over the cause of her sadness.

"Aki…wanted to ask me for help."

"Help?"

"Help him confess to you." she said it with an alien emotion in her voice, a tone Mizuki couldn't quite decipher. It sent a chill down her spine.

"Oh."

It was all she could say.

She tried to think. What would have happened if she was in Minami's place? Obviously she'd be as devastated as she was right now.

Slowly, she started to understand everything. Why Minami had been distant earlier. Why Akihisa kept quiet about all of it. Why it was her Minami had called out to talk to.

Even though her friend hadn't said anything, she knew what had happened. Most likely, they had gotten into a big fight, a fight that was most likely still unresolved.

The two people most dear to her had fought.

Her heart sank when she realized _she_ was the cause.

Minami was looking away from her now, facing the window. It was clear she was still holding back her tears.

"Minami-chan…"

She hadn't turned around.

"I'm sorry."

At that the tall redhead turned, faced her friend once more.

"Don't apologize to me, Mizuki. This isn't your fault."

"But it is…Minami, you got into a fight with Akihisa-kun because of me. If it wasn't for me then…"

"If it wasn't for you, Mizuki, Aki might not have noticed me in the first place. He only notices me because I hang around you." she spat out the words, and tried hard to cover the bitterness in them.

Minami steeled herself, and continued. "Mizuki, it isn't your fault Aki loves you, okay. It isn't your fault and I have never blamed you for any of this. So please, don't apologize to me."

"But…if Akihisa-kun confesses to me and I accept and we start going out then…what will happen to us?" Himeji asked, dreading the answer. She might have to choose between the two people she loved most.

"Well, for one, Mizuki, don't reject him for my sake. Just because I'm upset for myself doesn't mean I can't be happy for you." she said it with a smile, or, at least what she thought Himeji would think was a genuine smile.

"But…"

"Mizuki, I know you love the guy. Don't let me stand in the way of your happiness, okay? I'll be happy for you, truly."

Her tears, which she had tried to keep at bay, betrayed her right at that point, as a few tears started to fall.

"Minami-chan…"

"I'm happy for you, really. So don't reject him for my sake. I'm not going to let some stupid boy get in the way of our friendship, Mizuki."

Minami was looking Himeji in the eyes, her expression determined, as determined as she sounded.

She was trying to sound convincing.

But Himeji had no idea if it was her or herself that Minami was trying to convince.

Himeji opened her mouth to speak once more when they heard footsteps echoing across the hall, coming closer.

They turned around to see who it was.

"Himeji-san…we need to talk." A familiar voice went.

It was Akihisa.

**~~~=w=~~~**

**Well, that was…awful. Guys, I'm really sorry for the late update, for one, I woke up late today plus my mom was using the laptop until just recently, so I rushed to finish this chapter! I'm sorry I made you wait, and I'm sorry if it kinda sucked.**

**But please, review~ **

**And tune in to the next chapter. It'll be out by tomorrow, I promise.**


	3. Selection

**Alright, so here's Chapter Three~**

**Haha, as always, I have absolutely no idea what I am doing here. Heck, I'm still debating as to how this story should end…**

**I'm torn, whether it should be a happy ending or a sad ending. Any opinions?**

**Oh well, that's still a few chapters on, so yeah~**

**Enjoy!**

**I don't own~**

**~~~=w=~~~**

"Akihisa-kun…" Himeji began, trying not to panic. Her eyes shifted from the boy before her and the girl behind her. This was the most awkward of awkward situations, and the pink-haired girl didn't know what to do.

She looked at Akihisa – the boy she loved so much. She thought of what Minami had said earlier, about him reciprocating her feelings. And even in the awkwardness of the situation, she couldn't help but be glad about it.

Then, guiltily, as she more thoughts connected to that one happy thought sprang into her mind, she turned to Minami. Minami, her best friend. She knew how much pain she was in, and she knew, she was in more pain than she would have wanted to admit.

Akihisa was looking at her, staring, eyes burning into hers almost. He looked at her with a fierceness of sorts, his eyes full of determination.

"Himeji-san." He repeated her name, his voice reflecting the same determination in his eyes.

Her eyes turned to face Minami, who was looking away now, scratching away an itch in her eye that never really existed – if this was awkward for Himeji, she knew it was more than awkward for Minami.

Akihisa – on purpose or no – ignored the fact that Minami was there.

"Himeji-san. We need to talk."

At that moment, right there and then, she knew. She knew where this was leading to, what it was they needed to "talk" about.

All of a sudden, Himeji felt out of place, like she shouldn't be there, that this shouldn't really be happening. Not now, at least, not in front of Minami.

"Himeji-san." Akihisa stressed. "I need to tell you something important."

There was a silence that followed, and in that silence Himeji knew she had to choose. Even though nobody was making her choose, she just knew. It was either Akihisa or Minami, and she knew, she knew deep, deep down that whatever choice she made, nothing would stay as it was before.

Choosing one would mean abandoning the other, regardless of what they said.

But she had to make a choice. And she had to make it now.

"Akihisa-kun…" she began, not knowing what to say next.

_Choose_, a voice in her head was telling her, and she couldn't ignore it.

_Choose._

She was close to tears, torn. She didn't want to lose either of them. She couldn't bear the separation of losing either the boy she loved, or her dearest friend.

_Choose._

She took a deep breath and began to think.

She knew Minami just said those words to ease her – she knew it would never come true. No matter what she said, they couldn't be the same friends as they were before. Not if she chose Akihisa.

She knew because, if she was in Minami's place; that was what would happen. That was what she would do.

But Akihisa was right there; ready to love her, ready to be with her. Her heart swelled with love for the boy. She knew she couldn't bear not to choose him. And she knew, despite how it could possibly destroy their friendship, Minami would understand…she would do the same thing, right?

She felt pathetic. Trying to reason out, trying to convince herself. Trying to pretend she was really torn between them, when she knew she really wanted to choose Akihisa.

But still…she felt guilty whenever she thought about choosing Akihisa. She wanted to, but she loved Minami as well, she was her best friend, she loved her like a sister. She didn't want to leave her, didn't want to hurt her more than she already did.

_Choose_. The voice rang in her head once more. She couldn't put it off any longer.

She opened her mouth to speak.

She was unsure of her choice, she knew, but she couldn't put it off any longer.

_Choose._

_I am!_, she answered back to the voice in her head. _I am, okay!_

Apparently, someone else had already chosen for her. From behind her, she heard shuffling, and from the corner of her eye she saw Minami moving forward.

"Well, I'll be taking my leave then, Mizuki."

She turned, but not before noticing Akihisa pointedly looking away.

"Minami-chan…" she began as her friend passed by her.

Minami paused, and whispered, "You never had to choose in the first place, Mizuki. I told you. We'd still be friends. Always. I promise."

With that, she walked away, passing by Akihisa. Himeji tried to ignore the tension that passed between them.

There was silence as Himeji and Akihisa watched Minami walk away. It lingered even after the tall redhead had left, and neither knew how to disrupt it.

The silence was almost unbearable.

Himeji was still thinking about Minami and everything that happened, until Akihisa called her out from her thoughts.

"Himeji-san."

She looked up from…someplace; she wasn't sure what she had been staring at, really. Her eyes locked with his, and the expression on his face made her blush a bright red, and she suddenly recalled what he came here for.

"Y-yes, Akihisa-kun? What is it?"

Her heart fluttered, wildly and uncontrollably. This was it, the moment she had been waiting for.

But deep in the corners of her mind, amidst all of the joy and laughter and happiness waiting to burst, a sole voice rang, the voice of guilt. It was weak, almost unheard, but no, Himeji heard it, until all the other emotions blocked it out.

All that mattered now was him and her, the rapid beating of their hearts, and the words he was going to say next.

"Himeji-san…I…" he began, his eyes still burning with the same determination they had earlier. He, too, as Himeji noticed, was blushing, perhaps even harder than she was.

She waited for him to go on, her heart pounding in her chest, loud enough to drown out the tiny voice of guilt that threatened her.

"Himeji-san…I…I love you."

Even though she expected him to say those words, it still made her heart race, faster than it had before – even though she had no idea how that was still possible. She blushed – she knew she was blushing because of the tremendous heat rising to her face.

Oh, how long had she dreamt of him saying those words! And to finally hear him – his voice saying it. She almost couldn't believe it was happening, that this was all real.

She pinched herself…and nope, she wasn't dreaming.

"Will you go out with me, Himeji-san?" Akihisa continued, and Himeji's heart raced inhumanely faster than ever before.

His eyes bore into hers.

Almost instantly, she replied. There was no thinking involved here, nothing else mattered now.

"Yes."

She knew Minami would have wanted her to say yes.

Or, at least, that was what she tried to tell herself.

Akihisa smiled. "Thank you."

Then there was another silence, not an awkward one, but a cozy, knowing one, where they didn't have to exchange words, just being there, together, was enough. She smiled back.

Her heart was singing, every cell in her body was celebrating.

But still, deep down, a voice just couldn't be silenced.

She thought of Minami, and the choice she had made for her.

She would just have to believe in that promise. The promise that nothing would change. The promise of their friendship.

Even though that small voice told her that some promises were just meant to be broken.

**~~~=w=~~~**

**Oh lordy, that sucked! Ughhh. Wow okay, this was really, really bad I swear =.= I hope it gets better soon, teehee. **

**What will happen to Minami and Himeji's friendship? **

**Oh well, we'll find out. **

**Please don't forget to review!**


	4. Separation

**Hello, everyone! **

**So, earlier while I was taking a bath earlier, I realized I wouldn't be able to finish this within a week. So, either I stay up late and finish at least two chapters a day, or I'll take a short break (I'd be busy around Friday to Saturday) and continue writing on Sunday. **

**Depends, but either way, I'm planning that this will have eight chapters or so.**

**Guys, it isn't done yet, okay! And gaah due to many requests this WILL have a happy ending (meaning Minami x Akihisa) AND THIS ISN'T OVER YET HOLD YOUR HORSES PEOPLE DON'T COMPLAIN YET JUST COZ HIMEJI AND AKI ARE TOGETHER NOW GAHD! **

**Anyways, here's the halfway mark, Chapter Four! **

**Oh right, I remember a small part of the original plot of this that I made a year ago and in it, this was supposed to be chapter one. Yeah, so, I just added the first three chapters on a whim, seems like.**

**Enjoy! I don't own, BTW.**

**~~~=w=~~~**

"You guys are dating now?!" Yuuji had exclaimed when Akihisa told him.

Akihisa nodded and smiled. "Yeah, Himeji-san is my girlfriend now."

Yuuji looked at his friend. Studied him. This lasted for a few minutes.

"…And are you happy?" Yuuji finally asked. It wasn't the question he wanted to ask right now, but he had no idea how to ask him that question yet.

Akihisa turned to face his friend. "Of course I'm happy! Why wouldn't I be?"

Then he went on to tell Yuuji the full story of his confession – albeit Yuuji hearing it already from a different source.

"…Then she said yes." Akihisa finished, as Yuuji looked – well, tried not to stare – at him.

The taller lad just nodded.

"…And that's all that happened?" Yuuji asked after a while. This conversation was like walking through a plot of landmines – he had to be extremely careful. Yuuji was worried he'd end up saying the wrong thing.

By now, Yuuji and the others already knew what had happened between Minami and Akihisa that day. And Minami joining them less and less didn't help hide that knowledge.

Another thing that Yuuji knew – Akihisa was lying about the confession.

He'd always known he was in idiot, but Akihisa wouldn't forget to mention such an important detail.

He hadn't mentioned the presence of Minami during the confession – or a bit prior to it – at all.

He didn't even know why he omitted her from his story, everybody already knew about what he did. Nobody blamed him for it, openly, at least.

Well, with the exception of Miharu, of course. The orange-haired girl attacked Akihisa the minute word got out about what had happened between her beloved "Onee-sama" and "that swine".

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Yuuji couldn't help but laugh at that scene that transpired no less that two days ago, when word got out and reached the ears of a certain girl from Class 2-D.

**~~~=w=~~~**

"Where the hell is that worthless good for nothing swine?!" Shimizu Miharu yelled, bursting into the Class F room, destroying the already-beaten-up door.

Said worthless swine was, as he was seen more often now, next to his girlfriend, just chatting and laughing. Minami wasn't in the classroom yet, either lurking around the campus alone – as was her habit as of recently – or still at home. Lately she tried to occupy herself with things that would have her outside the classroom most of the time; she tried to avoid the classroom – well, to be specific, certain people in that room – as much a possible.

"Eh?" Akihisa merely squeaked as the orange-haired girl thundered closer.

"You useless swine! How dare you make my Onee-sama cry?!" Miharu boomed, her small finger pointed in Akihisa's direction. She looked like she was ready to kill someone, and Akihisa was her target.

Akihisa turned away. "I didn't mean to! I – "

Clearly, Miharu wasn't here for explanations. "You swine! I'll kill you!"

Comically, Akihisa gulped as Miharu began to unleash her wrath upon the poor guy.

**~~~=w=~~~**

It had been two weeks since Akihisa and Himeji got together.

They were all in the classroom, having lunch. Miraculously, they managed to get Minami to join them.

Sure, she sat as far as she could from the lovey-dovey couple, and pointedly ignored Akihisa, but at least she was eating with them, unlike the past two weeks where she had come up with excuses to not join them for lunch. Well, for the first week at least.

"I'm sorry, I didn't bring any lunch today, you guys go on ahead, I'll go eat lunch at the canteen."

"I'm sorry, I have to run back home and eat lunch with Hazuki today!"

"Oh, I'm not hungry, I had a heavy breakfast earlier."

The second week she didn't even bother to give them excuses, she just left the classroom, grabbed her lunchbox and ate elsewhere.

Himeji often called after her, sometimes she'd even chased after her friend. But every single time, she got the same response – nothing. Minami would ignore her calling out after her, and whenever Himeji chased after her she'd just return a few minutes later, panting, trying not to cry. Everyone knew Minami had blown her off for the umpteenth time.

And every time, Akihisa would run up to meet Himeji, put his arms around her and comfort her before the tears fell, all the while Himeji would mutter repeatedly, "But she promised!"

"I'm glad you could join us for lunch today, Minami-chan!" Himeji said, all smiles. This had been the first time since then that she ate with her best friend, after all.

Minami smiled back, weakly. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to join you so much the past two weeks…I was…"

Her green eyes flitted over to Akihisa for a while. She and Akihisa exchanged a look, and Minami turned away quickly.

Himeji and the others pretended not to see that little awkward exchange of theirs.

**~~~=w=~~~**

For the next week, at least, Minami hung out with them more often, eating lunch with them and walking home together, although whenever she walked with them she was always in the back, quiet most of the time, and not as energetic as she had been since the incident. That had been more than a month ago.

Minami and Akihisa still weren't on speaking terms, and everyone tried really hard not to pay attention to that fact, but they just couldn't. Himeji, trying to fix things, kept trying to get them to talk to each other, but all her attempts were always futile.

Akihisa tried talking to Minami, sure. He cooperated with whatever his girlfriend was planning to get the two to talk again, but it was Minami who brushed off all attempts to be friends again.

After the fourth attempt of the day (boy was Himeji persistent), during a quiet and awkward lunch time, Himeji finally gave up, bursting into tears.

"Minami-chan! You promised! You promised things would still stay the same!" she exploded, wet tears running down her cheeks.

Minami only looked away.

"Minami!" Akihisa yelled, his arms around his girlfriend. "How could you make Himeji-san cry?!"

Not waiting for her reply, he turned to Himeji, who was still crying. "Himeji-san, are you okay?" he whispered to her, stroking her back.

Yuuji and the others looked at Akihisa, shocked. They'd never seen him yell at Minami – or any girl, for that matter – like that.

He seemed to ignore their stares, focusing on consoling the crying Himeji.

Their eyes shifted to Minami. She was looking away, stone-faced, but it was clear she was trying not to cry as well.

She may not have been on speaking terms with Akihisa, but that still stung.

Aware of the eyes on her, she turned around again, steely-eyed this time. Her eyes were shining but she looked angry now.

Akihisa turned to talk to her again. His voice still raised, he exclaimed. "How could you make Himeji-san cry?! She was just worried about you!"

"Oi Akihisa!" Yuuji scolded, this was getting too far. "You shouldn't be yelling at Shimada like that!"

"Stay out of this, Yuuji, Minami made my girlfriend cry! And all she was doing was trying to help out of concern!"

"But Akihisa…" Hideyoshi and Muttsurini stepped in, knowing attacking Minami like this was too much.

"That's enough guys, don't worry about me." Minami finally said, standing up. She looked at Akihisa right in the eyes.

"If Akihisa wants to keep treating me like this, so be it, it's better than how he treated me before, making me think there was something when really there wasn't. If he wants to blame me for all of this, let him, I suppose it's partly my fault as well, I mean, it _is_ my fault that I assumed for something, and that I wasn't likeable enough to get him to like me. So yeah, don't worry about me, you guys."

The sarcasm and bitterness was so evident in her voice even Akihisa, the idiot that he was, could tell.

"Minami…" he began, just as Minami was moving to leave.

She hesitated but kept moving.

"Minami! I'm sorry!" he called out, just as she was at the door.

All eyes turned to Akihisa now.

Minami paused, and turned around. She didn't talk but she stood there, waiting for what Akihisa was going to say.

"Minami…I'm sorry for everything. For getting mad at you earlier, for that stupid thing I did back then. It was really, really stupid of me, I know, and I knew, Minami, I knew. And I'm really, really sorry. But please, I don't want us to fight anymore, I want us to be friends again. Please, please forgive me Minami. I don't know what else I can say!"

"_You _want us to be friends, or Mizuki wants us to be friends and you're just doing this for her?"

"I…what's the difference?!" Akihisa said, standing up. "All I'm saying is I'm sorry, and I wish we can be friends again, Minami! Himeji-san has nothing to do with this!"

Minami moved closer to Akihisa. The rest were too stunned by the ongoing argument to move, let alone speak. Even Himeji was stunned out of her tears.

"Mizuki has _everything_ to do with this! If you had truly wanted to be friends again, wanted to say sorry, you'd have done it sooner, not now when your _girlfriend_ is in tears, not a _month_ later! If you _really_ wanted to apologize you would have done so when I gave you the chance!"

"Minami…" Akihisa began, his resolve weakening.

"If you're planning to apologize now, Aki, then it's far too late for that. I'm done." She turned to Himeji.

"Mizuki…I'm sorry, but I can't keep my promise. I tried, I really did, but I'm sorry, I just can't anymore."

And with that, she left.

The entire group was shocked into silence. Minami left to the unbearable noise of nothingness, and they all watched her leave.

"Minami-chan!" Himeji called out, a bit too late. She was already gone.

And it was the last time they saw Minami in a while.

**~~~=w=~~~**

**Well, that's the end of chapter four! I'm sorry it took quite a while. Was…busy with overwhelming laziness. Oh well, don't forget to review! The next chapter comes out tomorrow!**

**Don't forget to leave a review, everyone!**


	5. Explanation

**Well, here's Chapter Five!**

**Oh, so I'll be taking a two-day break most likely, busy with some things, but I WILL continue this story, most likely on Sunday or Monday, at the latest. Hold on till then, will you?**

**Thanks guys, and, enjoy!**

**~~~=w=~~~**

"Shimada-san is absent again?" their class adviser, Nishimura-sensei, nicknamed Tetsujin, asked during first period, just as he was taking attendance.

He turned to the gang, his eyes inquiring, but everyone avoided his gaze, pretending to be preoccupied with something or other.

"She hasn't gone to school this whole week!"

Everyone shifted in their seats, uncomfortable.

"Yoshii. Sakamoto. You and your friends know anything about this?"

"No sir, we don't." Yuuji answered for the group. Nishimura-sensei stared at him intently, trying to make his resolve falter and give in. It didn't. The tall, red-haired leader of Class F held the tough teacher's gaze, until it was he who looked away.

"Okay then." Nishimura-sensei replied, continuing his attendance roll call.

Yuuji breathed a sigh of relief, as did the others.

Truly, they didn't know. After Minami stormed out of the room that day, they hadn't seen her since. They didn't want to think it was because of that fight; Minami was hurt, sure, but she wasn't that stupid that she'd stop going to school just because of it.

But right now, there was no other reason they could come up with.

Was it possible that she was _that_ hurt that she couldn't bear to even go to school anymore?

"Himeji-san." Nishimura called out after class.

"Y-yes?" she replied meekly.

"Come outside for a while, please."

So teacher and student stepped out of the classroom. Nishimura-sensei shut the door behind him.

"What is it, Nishimura-sensei?" Himeji asked.

"It's about Shimada-san. Are you sure there isn't anything you know about why she hasn't gone to school this week?" Nishimura asked, unusually concerned.

"I…I really don't know, Nishimura-sensei." She said, lying once more. They had agreed not to tell anyone. And besides, what could Nishimura do?

"I know I must sound strange right now, since I'm normally not this concerned with my students, but Shimada is a smart girl, like you. We both know both of you don't really deserve to be in this class and were only sent here because of circumstances, but…I'm getting far from my point. My point is, Shimada's smart, she wouldn't just stop going to class for no reason. Are you _sure_ you don't know anything? Anything at all?"

Himeji was taken aback. Tormented, she knew she couldn't lie, but she wasn't entirely sure if the reason they were all thinking of was actually the reason why Minami stopped going to school.

"Well…" she began.

**~~~=w=~~~**

"You _told_ Tetsujin!?" Yuuji exclaimed, surprised.

"I'm sorry! It was just…"

"Himeji-san, you don't have to apologize. It's just, we're not even entirely sure yet if that's really why Minami stopped going to class." Akihisa answered.

"We have to find out what's wrong! What if Minami-chan is in trouble or something?" Himeji replied, concern showing in her voice. Even though her best friend basically blew her off, she still cared about her.

"But how? She hasn't been answering any of our calls!" Hideyoshi stated.

"And whenever we try to visit, nobody answers the door." Muttsurini added.

"But…"

"Himeji, I understand that you're concerned for Shimada, but she must have her reasons. And we should respect those reasons. Right now…let's face it, there's nothing we can do about it." Yuuji said frankly.

"…I understand."

"Well then, I'll be heading off now. Shouko is…" Yuuji shuddered, not finishing his sentence.

"Going on a date, Yuuji?" Hideyoshi asked.

"It's _not_ a date! It's just…"

"…Yuuji…" came a voice from outside the classroom, accompanied by the sound of a Taser.

Yuuji made a sound that was vaguely like a squeak, and hurried out the room.

Hideyoshi and Muttsurini left soon after, and it was just Himeji and Akihisa who were left in the room.

"So…should we go home now as well, Himeji-san?" Akihisa said, standing up, bag in hand.

"Oh…uhm, Akihisa-kun you can go on ahead…I still have some things to finish up on." Himeji said, gesturing to the stack of papers teachers asked her to deal with.

"Oh…will you be fine alone then?" Akihisa replied.

"Yes, don't worry about me, Akihisa-kun."

"Okay then…I'll see you tomorrow then, Himeji-san." And with that, he left.

**~~~=w=~~~**

Himeji walked out of the empty classroom.

"It's late…I should hurry home now…" she said to herself.

The school was almost empty now, too. There were minimal students and only some teachers left. In the horizon, the orange sun was slowly setting, giving way to the cool night.

As Himeji hurriedly passed by the staff room, she noticed a familiar shade of red hair.

She abruptly stopped, turning around to take a closer look.

"Minami-chan!"

At her friends' voice, Minami turned around, to see Himeji standing right in front of her.

"Mizuki! Why are you still in school?" Minami asked.

"I had some things to take care of. Minami-chan, why haven't you gone to class?"

Minami looked away after hearing that question.

"I…I had some things to take care of as well."

"Minami-chan…"

Minami was about to speak, to explain, Himeji had hoped, but a teacher called Minami in to the staff room.

"Mizuki, I have to go…I'll see you…I guess…?" she made it sound like a question, as if she wasn't sure herself.

"I'll wait for you, then, Minami-chan. We need to talk."

"But it's already sundown! I might take long! It's getting late and…" Minami reasoned.

"And we need to talk."

Minami was surprised by the force in her friend's normally soft voice. It made her turn and face her, look her friend in the eyes. Her blue eyes showed her concern and determination.

"Okay then…" Minami said resignedly; she knew this girl would wait even if it took her the next day to finish whatever it was she had to do.

**~~~=w=~~~**

"Thank you, sensei." Minami said, bowing by the door as she went out of the staff room thirty minutes later.

She looked at her watch, noticing how late it was and half-hoped Himeji had already left. She _really_ didn't want to talk about this, not now.

But she knew, when Himeji was serious she wouldn't back down or give up. She turned to see her friend, almost asleep, sitting on the floor, her back resting on the wall.

"Mizuki…" she said, moving towards the drowsy girl.

"Minami-chan…are you finished?" she said groggily, getting up.

"Yes, Mizuki. Come on, it's getting late. I told you not to wait for me."

Minami started walking and Mizuki followed after her.

"But Minami-chan…we need to talk! Why haven't you been coming to school the past week? Was it because of what happened? If so, I'm sorry!" she was walking faster now, jolted awake.

"Mizuki, how many times do I have to tell you? This isn't your fault, okay? It isn't and I have never seen it as your fault. Sure…I may have blamed you a bit for it back then but…it isn't your fault, okay! I don't hate you and you don't need to apologize!"

There was silence for a while as they walked home, their path illuminated by the setting sun.

"But…" Himeji spoke again, after a while.

"No buts, Himeji. Trust me, me not going to school isn't your fault, okay?"

They were by Himeji's house now, as it was closer than Minami's place.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye then…I mean, I'll talk to you soon."

"Minami-chan, wait, you still haven't explained why…" Himeji began.

"Sorry, I'm kinda in a hurry, Mizuki! I'll explain it to you soon, I promise! Just…not now."

Minami left hurriedly, almost running away.

_Darn. _

She had talked to Minami and yet she wasn't able to find out why she had stopped going to classes. What great use she was.

She turned, disheartened and started to get into her house.

By the corner of her eye, she saw a small paper, fluttering in the light breeze.

Absentmindedly, she called out, "Minami! You dropped something!"

But Minami was long gone. She picked up the piece of paper. It must have been something unimportant. A small bit of scrap paper or something.

She walked into her house, took off her shoes and got to her room, still clutching the piece of paper.

She was ready to throw it in the trash, but just as she was about to, she ended up looking at that piece of paper carefully.

She almost dropped the paper out of shock at what it actually was.

It wasn't some useless piece of scrap paper.

It was a plane ticket.

A plane ticket to Germany.

**~~~=w=~~~**

**Well, that sucked once more! Gaah, it so isn't good typing on an empty stomach! Oh well!**

**The plot twist for this chapter was pretty predictable, if I do say so myself. **

**Well, don't forget to leave a review, everyone! And, like I said, I'm probably going to continue this on Sunday! Hold on till then!**


	6. Desperation

**Hello everyone! So, sorry for the two-day pause, was busy with moving. I'm currently on vacation, living with my grandmother and great aunt for one month or so. Sadly, the laptop I'm using is only borrowed and typing is a huuuuuge bother because the keyboard is all whacked up, especially the space bar. Like, you'd have to press down reaaaallly suuper hard and it's the most annoying thing, next to the fact that the Wi-Fi I'm using belongs to my cousin-slash-neighbor, and it doesn't reach my house itself and I have to go over to access the fooking internet. And annoyingly, on Sunday mornings the Wi-Fi is turned off because they go to Church and then have lunch, and they don't come back until the afternoon.**

** Well, that's enough complaining, might as well get on with typing the story, eh? So this is the sixth chapter, expect it to end in two or three more chapters.**

** Okay then, enjoy!**

**~~~=w=~~~**

Himeji sat on her bed, staring at the small piece of paper.

Minami was leaving. She was leaving, and she didn't tell anyone about it. Not even her, the redhead's best friend.

"Minami-chan..." she muttered, clenching her fist around the plane ticket.

Why didn't she tell them? How long had she known? How long had she kept it a secret? Was she even planning on telling them, or would she have just disappeared?

Would she come back?

Himeji had so many questions, so very many. But where would she find the chance to get her answers?

She turned to her bedside table, where an array of pictures stood in multi-colored frames. Some were fairly recent, pictures of her and Akihisa on some of their dates. Some were old, pictures of her with the rest of Class F.

Her eyes landed on a blue-framed picture. It was taken around a year ago, and it was one of her favorite pictures. There, captured on film, she and Minami stood side by side, holding up peace signs, smiling brightly.

Tears began to well in her eyes. Suddenly, every single happy memory she had with her best friend surfaced, like bubbles popping everywhere.

As more and more memory bubbles came to her mind, more and more the tears threatened to fall.

Minami was leaving. Her best friend was leaving. She was leaving.

Himeji couldn't stress how...upset she was by it. Upset didn't even begin to describe how she felt anymore. It was just...too painful. Simply thinking about it hurt too much; she couldn't imagine how hard it would be, in the airport, saying goodbye, watching her best friend leave for another continent...and possibly never come back.

Would Minami even want them there when she left? After all that's happened?

She shook her head, refusing to entertain that particular thought.

They were _friends_, the very best of friends. She wouldn't let all of that just go to waste because of one boy...right?

Right?

Finally the tears fell. She didn't even know why anymore. All of it was just too much...first the fight between her best friend and her boyfriend, then the broken promise, then _this_. She couldn't take the pain anymore.

She was sobbing now, consumed by everything that happened.

Then, her phone rang.

She picked it up, her voice thick from the crying.

"Hello?"

"Himeji-san?"

It was Akihisa.

"Himeji-san? Are you crying?" he continued, the worry in his voice evident, even over the phone.

"Eh? Oh it's...uhh, nothing. It's just..."

She was debating whether or not she should tell Akihisa about Minami leaving.

"Himeji-san? If there's anything wrong, anything at all, anything that's bothering you, please, please tell me. I may be an idiot but I can at least try to comfort you, you're my girlfriend after all." Akihisa was genuinely concerned for her, it was that obvious.

Despite her crying over the Minami situation, her boyfriend's kind words cheered her up, even made her heart skip a beat.

"It's..."

"Himeji-san..." his voice was pleading now, too, overcome with worry. "I can't stand knowing you're crying over something and I don't know how to make you feel any better."

Sighing, she told him. Everything. Their meeting, the plane ticket.

"Minami's leaving for Germany?!" he yelled into the phone, as shocked - possibly even more than - as Himeji was.

"We have to stop her!" Akihisa continued. "She can't just leave she's our friend! She's...Minami can't just leave! I won't let her!" he was frantic now, and Himeji was surprised by how affected he was.

He was immensely concerned about the tall redhead, and Himeji had never heard him that concerned before, not even towards her.

"We have to tell the others. We have to stop Minami. I'm going over to her place right now." Akihisa yelled into the phone.

"But Akihisa-kun, it's the middle of the night! Akihisa-kun!"

He had already hung up.

Himeji didn't know if she should be worried by how concerned he was over this whole incident.

I mean, sure, Minami was still a dear friend to Akihisa but...this...

Maybe she was just imagining things, overthinking. Maybe the jealousy was making her panic, but she couldn't help but think...this was more than just how a_ friend _would react to these kinds of things.

What if...

No, no way. Akihisa confessed to _her_, not Minami! He loved _her_, not Minami.

She paused.

What was she even _thinking_ about right now? Her best friend was leaving for another country, and here she was, worried shitless over the miniscule possibility that her boyfriend might actually be in love with her?

"I am a horrible person." she muttered to herself, trying to get the awful thoughts to stop. She didn't want to think badly about either her boyfriend or her best friend.

But no matter how hard she tried, the thoughts just wouldn't go away.

Right now, Akihisa was apparently headed over to Minami's house.

She hoped the bad thoughts in her head right now were just that, thoughts. And nothing more.

She wanted to trust Akihisa, and Minami as well. She wanted the bad thoughts to go away.

**~~~=w=~~~**

"Minami!" Akihisa screamed as he ran.

He needed to talk to her. He needed to stop her.

There was no way he'd let her leave.

After fifteen minutes of running, he stopped at the familiar house.

His lungs begging for air, his heart roaring in his ears, he rang the doorbell.

He didn't think about the possibility that Minami would, upon seeing his face at her door, slam the door at him.

Thankfully, he didn't have to.

"Onii-chan!" Hazuki greeted him, smiling. "Why have you come to visit at such a late hour?"

Akihisa, still panting, walked inside as she ushered him in.

"I...need...to...talk...to...your...sister." He said in between quick gulps of air.

"Oh. Well, she's busy cooking. Can you wait a little bit? Hazuki will get you some water."

She walked to the kitchen, and returned with a glass of water so cold he could _see_ the mist on the glass.

He drank it in one sip, glad for the refreshment.

"There, is that better, Onii-chan?" she asked.

"Hazuki...who are you talking..." Minami had walked into the living room. Upon laying her eyes on the one person she wanted to see the least, she stopped mid-sentence.

"You." was all she bothered to say to him. Her eyes were filled with sadness and hate. She looked like she was either ready to attack him, or burst into tears. Possibly even both.

"Minami..."

"Get out.

"Ehh? But Onee-chan! He came over because he said he wanted to talk to you!" Hazuki interjected, clearly unaware of the fight between her "Onii-chan" and "Onee-chan".

"No, he leaves, right now."

"Minami! Please! We need to talk!" Akihisa pled.

"Why should I talk to you? What, you're going to ask for help again? Did you and Mizuki fight and now you need my help?!" she was hysterical, and it made Akihisa felt worse than he already did before.

"Minami..." He moved closer to her, but she just moved further away.

"No! Save it Aki, I have given you enough chances. I already said I was sick of it all. Just...please just leave!"

"Minami!" he grabbed her and wrapped her into a hug.

"Please...don't go, Minami. Don't leave Japan. Please. I don't want you to go!"

He hugged her even tighter, repeating the words "Don't go, don't go!" over and over.

**~~~=w=~~~**

**Well there you have Chapter Six! And here begins the turning point, where it finally shifts to a Minami x Akihisa thing!**

**I don't even know what I'm doing anymore. Haha! Anyways, don't forget to leave a review!**

**Update tomorrow!**


	7. Realization

**Well, hello there! And since I'm too lazy to type an author's note, here's chapter seven, without further ado!**

**~~~=w=~~~**

"Don't go, Minami. Please don't." Akihisa was repeatedly saying, his hands wrapped tight around her.

Minami was too stunned to react. Two questions danced in her mind.

How did he find out?

_Why did he care?_

Her hands stayed limp on her sides. For a while, she forgot about their fight, and her heart raced at such close contact with the person she loved. She admitted to herself, even now, even after everything; even after his choice, she still loved him. She was sure there was no force on earth that could actually make her stop loving him.

That was why it hurt much more, all of what had happened.

He spoke again, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Minami, please, don't leave!" Akihisa pled, pulling away from the hug.

Minami only looked down, unable to meet his eyes, fierce with determination.

"It's too late for that now, Aki. Everything has been set. Hazuki and I have to leave tomorrow." she muttered.

"How long did you know that you were moving to Germany?" Akihisa asked almost immediately.

"Two months ago." she said, still looking away.

Two months ago...what?! Then that meant...

Their fight was only a little over a month ago, almost two months now, actually.

"Yes, Akihisa." Minami continued, realizing what Akihisa was thinking. "I had known before we fought. Father called us about a week before that day."

"Why didn't you tell us? Tell me?" Akihisa asked, trying to get her to look at him in the eye.

"Why should I have told you? What difference would it have made?" Minami began, challenging him.

Akihisa looked down. What difference _would_ have it made?

"I...I don't know. But I wouldn't have hurt you like that. I wouldn't have made you leave with the last thing you'd remember me by as our fight. I would...I would have..."

"You would have still chosen her." she spat.

Akihisa's head snapped up. "No! I would have..."

She looked at him now, waiting for what he would say. "You would have what Aki? Don't lie to me just because I'm leaving soon! You'd still choose Mizuki, I _know_ so! She's just...she's _Himeji Mizuki_; I'm just _me_. Everybody would choose her over me!"

Akihisa was silent. He was afraid that if he spoke now he'd say something to offend her even more.

"For a while I thought...I thought maybe you'd be different. You wouldn't be like everybody else. For a while I thought...I had just as much of a chance as Mizuki to get chosen by you...and even now...even now...why do I still love you?! Why? Even when you've already chosen someone else? What's wrong with me?!"

She was crying then, the tears streaming down her face. Her voice was cracking, breaking because of the tears, but she went on with what she had to say.

"Why does Mizuki have to be so fucking perfect, and I'm like this?! Stupid, violent, unlikeable! What did I do wrong?! Why couldn't you choose me?!" Minami yelled, staring him down.

From the corner of his eye, he could see Hazuki by the open door, half-hiding. She was crying, crying for her sister. "Onee-chan..." she whispered.

Akihisa turned back to face Minami.

"Indeed. You're nothing like Himeji-san, Minami. You are far too different from her. So different that you can't be compared to each other. So please, Minami, stop trying to compare yourself with her. You're nothing alike, yes, but that doesn't mean you aren't as likeable as she is! That's _her_ charm, not yours. You have your own, Minami. And I can't believe you refuse to see that. Sure, Himeji-san is perfect, but that doesn't mean you're not either, Minami! I for one think you're amazing, Minami. I can't believe for one second that you don't know that. What I said back then to Miharu, they weren't lies."

Minami was stunned by what he said.

"Then why...why did you choose Mizuki?" Minami asked the question she wanted to ask long ago. Tears fell as she said those words.

Akihisa paused. Why _did _he choose her? He thought Minami was just as amazing as she was...possibly even more...

Wait what?!

Did he just...

Was it possible that he made the wrong choice?

He shook his head. No, he loved Himeji-san.

Right?

It was her he loved, and not Minami, right?

He didn't know anymore.

"I...I don't know..."

He really didn't know anymore. But...he had already chosen Himeji-san...he didn't want to hurt her...

But he didn't want to keep hurting Minami either.

"You shouldn't be saying those kinds of things to me, Aki."

"Why shouldn't I tell you the truth?" Akihisa asked, surprised.

"Because you already have a girlfriend." Minami said, her tone sad.

"And your girlfriend heard everything you said." came another voice, by the front door.

They both turned to see a crying Himeji, eyes red and puffy.

"Mizuki!" exclaimed Minami, shocked.

"Himeji-san!" Akihisa was just as shocked as Minami.

_Crap. _

He made two girls cry in one night. That must be some sort of record or something.

"You...you heard everything, Himeji-san?!"

Himeji didn't bother to reply to his question. Ignoring it, she continued.

"I knew it...I didn't want to believe the bad thoughts but...how could you Akihisa-kun?! And Minami-chan...I thought...I thought..." she was too busy sobbing now to talk, and, as dramatic as it was, she ran, away from Akihisa, from Minami, from everything.

"Himeji-san!" Akihisa yelled out, rushing after her.

"Mizukiiii!" Minami had called out as well, dashing after her friend as well.

Akihisa, being the faster runner, caught up to Himeji first. Minami stopped running, watching the little scenario from afar.

"Himeji-san!" he called out.

His girlfriend turned, still teary-eyed.

Akihisa wrapped her up in an embrace. They began speaking, but Minami couldn't hear what they were saying.

She watched them. How Akihisa looked at Mizuki, and how Mizuki looked at him. They loved each other. They really did.

Getting teary-eyed herself, she walked back to her house. What would happen next wasn't for her to see or hear.

Besides, she still had some packing to do.

**~~~=w=~~~**

"Himeji-san...we have to talk about this." Akihisa began after letting go of the pink-haired girl.

"Yes, Akihisa-kun, we really do need to talk about it. Or, to be precise, you need to think about it." Himeji began, wiping away her tears.

"Think about what?"

"This. You, me and Minami. Who do you _really_ love, Akihisa-kun?"

Akihisa looked down, silent. He didn't know anymore. He thought he'd already decided, that he'd made up his mind, but now, now he was more confused than he ever was.

"I thought so." Himeji said, even though Akihisa hadn't answered her question. Or maybe it was that silence that she took as his answer.

"Himeji-san, wait!" Akihisa called out as Himeji began to walk away.

"You need to think, Akihisa-kun. Choose."

"But...I don't want to hurt anyone anymore, Himeji-san." Akihisa replied, clearly conflicted.

"That's impossible, Akihisa-kun. You can't go on with your life not hurting anyone. It's just a matter of who you really can't stand hurting." Himeji said, a tear falling down her cheek. "Between me and Minami-chan, who can you not stand seeing get hurt more?"

"I...I don't know."

"Well, that's what you need to think about. And you need to think about it fast, Akihisa-kun, because after tomorrow, you'll lose the ability to actually have a choice."

Akihisa simply nodded.

"Good night, Akihisa-kun. I hope you make the right choice this time."

And with that, she left.

And Akihisa had some thinking to do.

**~~~=w=~~~**

**I am not proud of this chapter. I'm just not. **

**And now we see the tides turning, and Akihisa is now confused. Who'd he choose this time? Yay, the next chapter will be the final chapter! Tune in!**

**But oh well, tell me what you think!**


	8. The End: Decision

**Hello everyone and welcome to the final chapter of Aftermath! I'll save my theatrics for later, for the final author's note.**

**Anywhoo, I hope you people enjoy this~**

**And you, you know who you are, I just hope you're reading this. My reward for this? You better give me my reward. :3**

**And a very special thanks to Minami Shimada; had I not spoken to her, I'd probably never have bothered to make this story.**

**Enjoy!**

**~~~=w=~~~**

Akihisa stared at his phone. After a long, long night of thinking - it was already 2 a.m. for Christ's sake - he'd made up his mind.

Sighing, he picked up his phone and dialed a number.

"Himeji-san...I've already decided."

**~~~=w=~~~**

"Shimada-san is moving back to Germany today," Tetsujin announced to the class that day, which gained the expected response of shock and surprise from Class 2-F. "That's why she came here to say goodbye."

Then, the sliding door opened, revealing the girl who'd been gone for a couple of weeks. The redhead entered the familiar, worn down classroom, tears in her eyes as she realized this would be the last time she'd ever be in it.

She bowed, and spoke in perfect Japanese. The two years in Japan didn't go to waste, after all.

"I'm not very good with goodbyes. But before I leave, I want to thank everyone here,"

Her eyes landed on her friends, one by one. Mizuki, Sakamoto, Muttsurini, Hideyoshi, and, lastly, Aki.

"Thank you, everyone. Every day with you made me happy, and I never once felt out of place. Before I met everyone, I cried every night, wishing I could go back to Germany, wishing I wasn't in Japan. But now, now..."

She started crying then, and Himeji started crying as well, and the others suddenly found their eyes itchy and started wiping at them furiously.

"Now I wish I could stay here in Japan!" Minami wailed, struggling with tears that surfaced as quickly as she could wipe them away.

"I know we've been through a lot of stuff, laughter and tears, all sorts of adventures. There was never a day that passed by that I'd never had fun here. So I thank you for that. For taking me in, treating me as a friend, as family, almost."

She smiled through her tears then, but the tears just flowed harder.

"I'm going to miss all of you. Every single one. I'll never forget you or the memories you've given me. Thank you, and..."

Her friends stood up then, some teary-eyed while some - mostly Himeji - downright sobbing, ran up to the front and hugged her.

"Oi! Sakamoto, Tsuchiya, Yoshii, Kinoshita, Himeji, go back to your..." he sighed. "All right, since your good friend is leaving anyway, I'll let you off the hook just this once. Just, do it outside so you won't disrupt the class."

"Thank you, Nishimura-sensei!" Minami said as they walked out the classroom for their little farewell session.

Himeji was clinging to her best friend the whole time, crying. Minami was, albeit trying to cheer up her friend, crying just the same.

"I'll miss you so much Mizuki!" she said, hugging her.

"You too, Minami-chan! Don't forget to keep in touch okay!"

One by one, she said her goodbyes to her other friends, by way of a hug or a handshake. Then, it was just her, Himeji and Akihisa standing outside.

"I'm sorry for everything that's happened. It's a shame this had to happen just as I was leaving, but, we can look past that. Friends?" Minami said, and although seemingly cheerful, there was a coldness and stiffness in her voice.

Akihisa nodded.

"Oi, Aki, you better take care of my best friend here! Make her cry, and I'll come back from Germany just to beat you up!"

"Minami-chan..." Himeji began.

"Don't worry, Himeji. I've already accepted it. He loves _you_. He's chosen _you_. Don't worry, I'm over it. I'm not mad anymore. You two take care of each other, you hear?" she said, smiling.

Himeji opened her mouth to speak, but closed it almost immediately.

"Himeji-san, can I talk to Minami alone for a while, please?"

Himeji looked at him, looking - was she sad or something? - and nodded.

"Don't worry Mizuki, I'll return your boyfriend to you." Minami joked.

Himeji twitched at the words, but Minami didn't seem to notice. She walked back into the classroom, and then it was just Akihisa and Minami outside.

"Minami...about last night..." Akihisa began.

"Oh yes, about last night. Aki, it would be better for your relationship that we forget everything you said last night. I know, you were just saying that because you were affected by the fact that I was leaving. I know, you didn't really mean those things. I know. And, strangely, I'm not that hurt by it. Don't worry, I'm not mad at you anymore. Just, take care of Mizuki, okay? Don't make her cry or anything."

"No...that's...Minami please...listen..." Akihisa muttered, trying to get his point across.

"You know, it would be better if you just forgot the fact that I love you, just so it doesn't complicate things with you and Mizuki anymore. Everyone will be happier that way."

"Minami...hold on..."

She looked at her watch, and hurried to leave.

"Well, I have to go now, Aki. This is goodbye. But before I leave..."

She stood on her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek.

"Okay. _That's_ goodbye. Take care of Mizuki okay!"

Then she was gone, and Akihisa was left there, watching her ponytail swaying as she ran away.

**~~~=w=~~~**

"Were you able to talk to her, Akihisa-kun?" Himeji asked him as he went back to his seat. Yuuji and the others were listening as well.

He shook his head. "She wanted...she wanted me to forget everything that happened - the fight, last night, even the fact that she loved me."

Himeji stared at him, feeling sorry.

"After you'd decided, too..." she muttered, her mind going back to their conversation last night, or, to be precise, earlier that morning.

**~~~=w=~~~**

"What is it, Akihisa-kun?"

"Himeji-san...I've already decided." came his voice over the phone.

All at once, Himeji felt a cacophony of emotions, swirling around inside her, so much that she almost couldn't contain it anymore.

"...And...what did you decide, Akihisa-kun?"

She heard him take a deep breath. She wished for time to slow; she was scared to hear his answer and wanted to put it off as long as possible.

"I...I'm sorry, Himeji-san."

It was all he said, but it was enough. Unsurprisingly, tears began to streak her cheeks.

"Are you crying right now?" he asked, his voice solemn.

"No, no I'm not." she lied, hoping he'd fall for it.

"I'm sorry I made you cry again, Himeji-san." he said, seeing through the lie.

"It's okay, Akihisa-kun. I understand. Minami-chan is amazing, after all. I always wished I was more like her, strong, independent and charming."

Despite the situation, Akihisa chuckled.

"What is it, Akihisa-kun? What's so funny?"

"It's just...you two girls amuse me. Minami said she wishes she was more like you, and now here you are, saying you wish you were more like her!"

"Oh..."

"Anyway, I'm really sorry, Himeji-san...I'm sorry I chose wrong and made you go through all of this. I'm sorry that I'd have to break up with you right now."

Even though she knew this would be inevitable, his words still stung.

"I understand, Akihisa-kun."

"I'm really sorry."

She merely nodded, even though he couldn't see her doing that. She was afraid that if she spoke, her voice would be too thick with tears.

They spoke a little bit more after that, then Himeji bid him good night.

"Good night, Himeji-san. And again, I'm really, really sorry."

**~~~=w=~~~**

"You weren't able to tell her anything?" Yuuji interjected. Everyone in the group already knew about the break-up.

Akihisa shook his head.

"She didn't give me a chance to say anything."

He buried his head in his hands. "Darn it! I lost my chance! I lost her! Darn it!"

"You're not chasing after her to the airport, Akihisa-kun?" Himeji piped up.

"What?"

"You're just going to let her go without her knowing how you really feel? You're just going to sit there? Is this how you want it to end? Then what was the point of me letting you go? Don't tell me I cried all night for nothing, Akihisa-kun!" she was angry now, and nobody's ever seen her angry before. They were all surprised.

"Akihisa, go." Yuuji encouraged.

"But...how will I leave the school?" Akihisa countered.

"Leave that to us."

"Go, Akihisa-kun. Tell her how you feel. Before it's _really_ too late."

"Hurry! You've got thirty minutes before her flight leaves!"

He nodded and stood up. Tetsujin noticed, but before he could react, Akihisa had already bolted out of the classroom. He was going to chase after him, but Yuuji and the rest of Class 2-F blocked the way.

"All of you! If you don't go back to your seats right now I'm giving you all detention!"

Nobody dared move.

_Good luck, Akihisa-kun,_ Himeji thought.

**~~~=w=~~~**

Akihisa ran through the school, out the gates and to the streets. The airport was a fifteen-minute trip by train. He dashed to the subway.

Funny how time slows down when you want it to speed up, and speeds up when you want it to slow down. The normally short trip felt like a thousand agonizing eternities to Akihisa. Each minute that passed was a minute closer to Minami leaving for good.

The minute the train's doors opened, he dashed, running like there was no tomorrow.

He raced to the airport, and then he realized there was a chance he wouldn't even find her among so many people.

He shook his head. He will find her. Even if he had to yell his lungs out or look like a complete idiot, he'd find her.

Turns out, he didn't even have to do either of that. Running, he paid no notice to the people around him, and he didn't realize someone was in his way until he had already bumped into the person.

"I'm sorry!" he muttered, looking at the person he had bumped into. "Hazuki!"

"Onii-chan! Have you come to say goodbye?" she asked, ecstatic. She was already clinging to his neck.

"Hazuki! Come back here, we're going to board soon." came the voice he was looking for, the voice he'd run for.

Hazuki let go of his neck and ran to her sister's side.

"Aki! What are you doing here?"

Then he saw her, the girl he loved. He noticed that her eyes were red - she had been crying. So she _wasn't_ over it, after all.

Not speaking, he kissed her, right there and then.

Minami was, for a while, too shocked to react, but after a while, she went back to her senses and reacted, but not in the way Akihisa would have wanted.

She pushed him away, staring at him incredulously, and punched him in the stomach. "What the hell are you doing?! You have a _girlfriend_."

"That's what I was trying to tell you earlier, Minami. Himeji-san and I broke up." he began, not touching her for fear of what she might do.

"What? When? Why?!"

Akihisa explained everything, from their conversation after the little scene over at Minami's house to earlier, when Himeji encouraged him to chase after her.

"I love _you_, Minami. Everything about you. And I can't believe it took me this long and all sorts of crap to happen before I could truly realize that."

"Well, you've always been stupid anyway, Aki." Minami interrupted, giggling. Ignoring her, he went on.

"And...I know it's too late for me to say this, but, please...I don't want you to go..."

"It's too late for that, Aki. My flight leaves in two minutes." she replied sadly.

"I know...that's why...wait for me."

"What?" Minami said, not understanding what he said.

"Wait for me. I don't have enough money now, but I'll save up so I can go to you. Wait for me, Minami."

"Always." Minami smiled, and Akihisa kissed her again.

_"Calling all boarders for flight 215, flight 215, headed to Germany, we are now boarding, the plane will leave shortly."_ came the overhead announcement, causing Minami and Akihisa to break from their kiss.

"Onii-chan, will you visit Hazuki in Germany?" Hazuki asked, looking up at the couple.

"Don't worry, I will, Hazuki. Wait for me, okay? And keep reminding your sister to wait for me!"

They repeated the announcement. Finally, it was time to leave.

"Goodbye, Aki."

"Goodbye, Minami, you too, Hazuki." he said, watching them go.

"Minami! I love you!" he called out.

She turned, a bright red. "Shut up you idiot!" she yelled back, embarrassed.

He chuckled. "Wait for me, okay!"

"Of course I will you idiot!" she called out, before finally leaving.

He watched her plane leave, waving even though he knew she might not see him.

And then, she was gone.

**~~~=w=~~~**

**A year later...**

"Hazuki, calm down!" Minami pled, trying to get her sister to stop jumping around.

"But...Onii-chan is coming soon! Hazuki wants to see him!"

"And you will! Jumping up and down doesn't help!" Minami scolded.

"Okay..." Hazuki said, standing still now. She held up the placard that said his name, while Minami was on the task of looking for him in the crowd.

Finally, her eyes landed on a familiar shade of brown hair, then the familiar almond eyes. Their eyes met and softened at the contact, smiles gracing both their faces.

He walked over to them, and Hazuki ran up to hug him.

He let go of the young girl, who'd gotten taller in the past year, as he pointed out, and stood up.

"Hi." he said to the redhead in the ponytail.

"Hi." she said back.

"You waited for me."

"Stupid! I'll always wait for you! Always."

He smiled and moved his lips closer to hers. He whispered a quick "I love you" before crashing his lips down on hers.

She kissed back, and for the first time in a long time, she'd never been so happy.

**~~~=w=~~~**

**Well, there you have it! The end! Hmm, a Minami ending, as promised! My reward!~ (You know who you are!)**

**Thank you, thank you to everyone who supported me and read this story. It wasn't that good but you guys actually bothered to lie and tell me it was! LOL JKJK Thanks for reviewing and telling me what you thought about it! **

**Special thanks to Minami Shimada, as stated before, and to my friends at the forum, namely Demi and Wishing, thank you very much! (Ani-kun, shame on you, you didn't review or anything for this even though I asked! xD)**

**To the anonymous reviewers who reviewed for each chapter, namely James and baka and test fan, thank you. I've been meaning to say thank you since day one but you guys were using guest accounts so I couldn't talk to you. But thank you from the bottom of my heart!**

**For the last time, please don't forget to review! I love you all! Thank you so much!**


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